(written from a Production point of view)
Richard J. Zobel, Jr. (5 June 1952 – 4 October 2005; age 53) was the actor who played Gaumen in the Star Trek: Voyager fourth season episode "The Raven". He filmed his scenes for this episode on Monday 21 July 1997 on Paramount Stage 8 and his costume was later sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1]
Zobel made his film debut in Sergio Leone's acclaimed 1984 drama Once Upon a Time in America, also that year he appeared in the comedy-drama film Teachers (starring William Schallert and Stephen Mendillo). His subsequent film credits include the Bob Clark-directed Turk 182! (1985, starring Kim Cattrall and Paul Sorvino) and From the Hip (1987, featuring Ray Walston) and the 1987 independent war drama Walker, starring René Auberjonois, on which he also worked as vocal arranger. Zobel later appeared in the films To Sleep with a Vampire (1993, with Cole McKay, Kurt D. Lott, and Michael J. Sarna), Warlock: The Armageddon (1993, featuring Zach Galligan), Tall Tale (1995, starring Roger Aaron Brown), and Montana (1998).
He also made guest appearances on Hill Street Blues (1987, starring James B. Sikking), Matlock (1989, with Michael Champion, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr., Conor O'Farrell, Ron Taylor, and Bob Minor), Mancuso, FBI (1990, with Tim Russ), China Beach (1991, with Concetta Tomei and Tom Wright), Melrose Place (1992, with Sherman Howard and Rosana DeSoto), Bodies of Evidence (1993, with Jennifer Hetrick, Jack Kehler, and Susanna Thompson), Knots Landing (1993, with Michelle Phillips and Claudette Sutherland), M.A.N.T.I.S. (1994, with Tierre Turner, Kimble Jemison, Ousaun Elam, Mark Phelan, Gene LeBell, and Craig Hosking), ER (1997, with Ted Rooney and Joseph Culp), and The X-Files (1999, in an episode with John Billingsley, Michael McKean, and Charles Rocket).
In addition, he had recurring roles on Crime Story (1987-1988) and Profiler (1997-1998). On the latter series, he worked with the likes of Erick Avari, Dennis Christopher, Steven Dennis, Lawrence Dobkin, Gary Frank, Lawrence Pressman, Stephen Root, and Wade Andrew Williams.
Zobel died of cancer on 4 October 2005. The 2008 documentary Dispatches from Nicaragua was dedicated to him and featured René Auberjonois, Bennet Guillory, and Keith Szarabajka.